Statement

RELOCATION OF THE NORTHERN QUÉBEC MODULE

Kuujjuaq, Quebec– For a number of weeks, a petition has been circulating on the Internet to have the Northern Québec Module (MNQ) relocated from the Notre-Dame-de-Grâce area (NDG). Like most of the persons who signed the petition, the organizations responsible for these installations—the Inuulitsivik Health Centre, the Ungava Tulattavik Health Centre and the Nunavik Regional Board of Health and Social Services (NRBHSS)—share the same preoccupations.



Well aware of the Nunavik population’s needs, the Inuulitsivik Health Centre and the NRBHSS have cooperated for several months with the ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux (MSSS) on relocating the Northern Québec Module with the goal of improving the capacity and quality of residential services and of the service installations dedicated to the Inuit clientele.



At this stage, various sites have been examined to determine the best place to respond to the needs. We will shortly be able to announce the selected location. “In the meantime, we are counting on the users’ vigilance to make sure the current installations are safe,” pointed out Jeannie May, Executive Director of the NRBHSS.



As stated in the working plan, the Northern Québec Module should be able to receive beneficiaries at its new premises starting in January 2011. We will keep the population informed at each of the project’s major steps until the new building is ready.



There are several facets to the mandate of the Northern Québec Module. Requests for appointments in Montréal are forwarded to the MNQ by the nurses of the 14 Nunavik villages. The MNQ organizes lodging and support services for the patients in transit houses. The MNQ follows up the patients and ensures they return home as soon as possible. It offers interpretation and transportation services to patients and their families while they are in Montréal. Finally, it has access to medical advisors, a social worker and a number of nurses to ensure that care for the Inuit users are provided in the best possible way. The MNQ is under the responsibility of the Inuulitsivik Health Centre in Puvirnituq and offers services to the entire Nunavik population.



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Source: Nunavik Regional Board of Health and Social Services



Information: Eric Duchesneau

Information Officer

819 964-2222, extension 275